Nathan Hale: One Life to Give

[0:00] I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country. [0:07] This is one of the signature lines of the American Revolution, [0:10] the quintessential statement of American patriotism. [0:13] It was spoken by Nathan Hale just before a British hangman executed him on September 22, 1776. [0:22] Hale was 21 years old. [0:24] Who was this remarkable young man, [0:27] and why was he willing to sacrifice his promising young life for the cause of liberty? [0:33] Nathan Hale was born June 6, 1755, in Coventry, Connecticut, [0:37] to a family with a hundred-year history in New England. [0:41] His great-grandfather, John Hale, had been a prominent figure in the Salem witch trials. [0:46] His father, Richard Hale, subscribed to the same fire and brimstone doctrines [0:50] and instilled in his children a deep, abiding reverence [0:54] for the cause of liberty. [0:54] For God. [0:55] Studious, pious, but enormously charming, [0:59] Nathan convinced everyone that he was destined for greatness. [1:02] And the first stop on that road at age 14 was a Yale education. [1:07] There, Nathan thrived. [1:09] He was curious about everything and attempted to master everything, [1:13] from Greek and Latin to science and philosophy. [1:17] Tall, broad-shouldered, with sharp blue eyes, he was quick to smile. [1:21] In the fashion of the age, he tied his thick, blondish, [1:24] brown hair in a ponytail. [1:26] Jared Sparks, future Harvard president and Hale's first biographer, [1:30] said no young man of his years put forth a fairer promise [1:34] of future usefulness and celebrity. [1:37] Upon graduating, Hale found a job as a schoolmaster in New London, Connecticut. [1:42] He was an instant success, firm, demanding, charismatic, a born teacher and leader. [1:49] According to one of his students, everyone who knew Hale was attached to him. [1:53] That's the fact. [1:54] It was in New London that he was drawn into the patriot cause. [1:59] In April of 1775, talk of revolution turned into bloody conflict when, [2:04] in the neighboring Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord, [2:08] American militiamen rebuffed the professional British army. [2:12] The war was on. [2:14] Hale answered the call for volunteers. [2:16] A sense of duty urged me to sacrifice everything for my country, he wrote his father. [2:22] God, he believed, [2:24] and called him to military service. [2:26] For Hale, America's cause was God's cause. [2:30] Recognizing Hale's obvious leadership qualities, [2:32] his commanding officer made him a lieutenant in the Connecticut regiment. [2:36] The title was flattering, but he had no idea what it meant to be a soldier. [2:40] So he read manuals, studied tactics, poured over military histories [2:45] to make up for his lack of military experience. [2:48] His first taste of real action came on his own initiative. [2:52] In May 1776, [2:54] he snuck aboard a British supply sloop in the middle of the night [2:58] and steered it to the American side of the East River while the British crew slept below. [3:03] The escapade made him a hero in the camp. [3:06] The badly needed captured supplies, not to mention the captured sailors, [3:10] made the victory all the sweeter. [3:12] His initiative and daring brought Hale to the attention of Thomas Knowlton, [3:16] a veteran of the French and Indian War. [3:18] Knowlton had been personally selected by General Washington to lead an elite special forces unit. [3:24] Whatever needed to be done, no matter how difficult, [3:27] Knowlton's Rangers would do it. [3:29] Espionage, covert reconnaissance, raids behind enemy lines. [3:33] Knowlton asked Hale if he wanted to join. [3:37] The former schoolmaster didn't hesitate. [3:40] But his very first assignment was his last. [3:42] Washington, recently having suffered a devastating defeat on Brooklyn Heights, [3:47] had no idea what his British counterpart, General William Howe, was going to do next. [3:53] If Washington had been able to do this, then it would have been a great victory for the British. [3:54] If Washington could get Howe's plans, he could figure out his next move. [3:59] Attack, retreat, or stand his ground. [4:02] Somebody would have to go into British-held territory on Long Island [4:07] and gather intelligence about British troop positions and intentions. [4:11] To say it was a dangerous assignment would be an understatement. [4:14] It would take a man of great bravery and cunning to pull it off. [4:19] Hale had the courage, but not the guile. [4:22] Posing as a teacher looking for a job, [4:23] he took a boat to British-occupied New York. [4:26] Unpracticed in deception, he was a terrible liar. [4:29] His cover story fooled no one. [4:31] The game was up before it had even begun. [4:35] Hale was arrested. [4:36] Under questioning from no less a personage than Howe himself, [4:39] he admitted his purpose. [4:41] Howe, like everyone else who met the young man, [4:43] took an immediate liking to his prisoner. [4:46] But the hardened general would show no mercy. [4:49] From the British perspective, Hale was a traitor. [4:52] And there was only one punishment for traitors. [4:55] Death. [4:56] Hale asked for a chaplain. [4:57] The request was denied. [4:59] He then asked for a Bible. [5:00] That request was also denied. [5:03] The next day, September 22, the hangman put a rope around Hale's neck. [5:08] It was then that Hale reportedly uttered his famous final words. [5:13] The British should have listened. [5:15] They were fighting for domination. [5:18] The Americans were fighting for liberty. [5:20] Whatever sacrifices they made, [5:21] whatever sacrifices they had to make, [5:23] they would, even unto death. [5:26] A nation of Nathan Hales could not be defeated.